by pauldear » Thu Jan 16, 2014 10:47 pm
Hi all,
Well, to address Monroe's hypothetical question over launching from foreign soil, having someone else launch, etc:
The N-Prize takes no active role in policing compliance with local laws, insurance requirements etc - this is left entirely up to the entrants. Teams will not be disqualified for regulatory non-compliance, unless (a) there's a very clear and immediate danger to others which I'm made aware of and which I don't believe should be encouraged or (b) legal processes are enforced to stop me giving the prize money (eg, if the US government threatens to prosecute me if I give the prize money to a team which has broken some US law, there may not be much I can do about it - but I will do my utmost to avoid this happening).
Equally, of course, if teams *do* break laws in the course of the their N-Prize entry, that's a matter between them and the regulatory authorities. I'm not encouraging teams to break any laws, but I'm not responsible for (or capable of) policing compliance.
By the same token, entrants are welcome to launch from outside their home country; to have others launch on their behalf; to provide plans etc for others to build and launch - in fact any arrangement I can think of. The entry has to be made in the name of a registered team, but if the launch (or construction etc) is delegated to someone elsewhere, that's fine. The prize money will be paid to the team in whose name the entry is made (specifically, it would go to the individual who registered the team, unless requested otherwise), so it would be up to the team to share the prize money with people launching on their behalf, if they so wished.
I hope that clarifies things. I know the regulatory side of things is often oppressive, and isn't really designed to cope smoothly with things like the N-Prize - especially in the US. The only help I can offer is by not including regulatory compliance costs in the budget limit; and by not adding to the paperwork any more than I can avoid.
Yours,
Paul